Newbery Honor author Patricia C. McKissack and Robert L. McKissack's humorous adaptation of a Nigerian folktale about Monkey and Rabbit who learn to be comfortable just being themselves.

One evening, Monkey invited his friend Rabbit to dinner. All during the meal, Monkey itched and so he scratched. Rabbit was no better. He couldn't stop twitching. Both so irritated the other with their scratching and twitching that they challenged each other to a contest to see who could be still for the longest period of time. The urge to scratch and twitch continued for both friends. So they each came up with a sly plan. Each decided to tell the other a story. The trick was with each story, the storyteller used deliberate gestures that allowed him to scratch where it itched, (amazon)

About two animals a monkey and a rabbit how have a personal contest to not scratch their bodies. Throughout the book the two characters fight the temptation to scratch themselves but also talk to one another about Kings and a plum tree. The plum tree awarded the king for taking care of it and getting rid of all its ants. The rabbit then continues with his story about a king. This book was not my favorite but I did enjoy the nostalgia about the kings stories. The illustration was ok but nothing really stood out. This book would be great to expand the different types of folk tales maybe for older students-fourth to sixth ( )